


Smile

by TurtleQuest



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Apocalypse, Character Death, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy Ending, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Post-Apocalypse, Protective Siblings, Sad and Sweet, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21912508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TurtleQuest/pseuds/TurtleQuest
Summary: It began so suddenly, but it all ended much faster, Leonardo remembered...
Relationships: Leonardo/Michelangelo (TMNT)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 53





	Smile

**Author's Note:**

> Written request on Wattpad from last year I thought I may as well go ahead and post here :P

It began so suddenly, but it all ended much faster, Leonardo remembered. Things had been as they always were; the four brothers had gotten up and made breakfast, Raphael and Michelangelo fought over first dibs on the last of the cereal, and he had dragged Donatello out of his lab, coffee mug in hand and with much protest from the groggy genius. They wrapped up breakfast and went through their training, and then Leonardo dismissed them and had sat down with the youngest brother to watch television. Yes, it was all like it had always been...

Then the report came in, and all went to hell from there...

~~~

_"Hurry up! Raph, Don!" Leonardo urged frantically, watching as the hoard of slow moving creatures advanced, their groans echoing through the tunnel system. They had been forced to evacuate, rushing to grab their things and hit the road as a swarm of these...whatever they were, began flooding in from all directions. Watching the news report was like a stagnant nightmare; all four eyes wide and shocked as frantic reporters broke news of a deadly infestation, and gruesome images of people being eaten alive haunted the small screen. It was something straight out of a hellish nightmare, and any disbelief was quickly dashed when the first staggering figure made its way into their lair; their **home**._

_Then, they ran._

_~~~_

Staring now over the city streets, that nightmare still haunted him, and somewhere inside the blue clad wished that it was only but a nightmare; that he would wake at any moment. It was an awfully childish thought. Where he stood perched atop a lamppost, Leo could see the slow, gradient creatures stumbling about below him, their moans and grunts drowning out any other sounds. They hadn't caught sight of him yet, of which he was thankful, and the terrapin warrior scanned the area slowly. He had only a single priority at that moment.

Yes, just one...

~~~

_"What the hell are those things?!" Raphael had yelled, breathless and enraged once they had managed to make it above ground. Though they were out of the sewers they were still nowhere near safe. "Dude! They're totally zombies!" Mikey cried, the blunt edge of his nunchaku striking the nearest of the creatures in the head. It was enough to send the creature reeling back but stopped it none._

_"They don't look like any zombies I've ever heard of." Donatello added with a grunt, using his staff to keep one of the infected back. "No time for debate guys, let's just focus on getting out of here!" Leonardo sliced the head clean off of the creature aiming to attack his brother and lead the team back up onto the rooftops. In the heat of the moment, the blue leader made a decision. "Split up! Raph and Don head South, Mikey and I will head North. We meet back here in an hour, and call if anything happens."_

_It was a decision that haunted him more than anything._

_~~~_

"Mikey....Mikey, wake up..."

It was hours later that Leonardo had finally made it back to their somewhat sanctuary, slipping past the gate that kept the back alley closed off and up into the window at the very top of the secluded warehouse. There was a small crack in the beams just big enough for him to squeeze his shell through with enough force. The area was small and the walls and floors were covered in layers of dust and greenish mold with thick wooden boards keeping the only door nailed shut, secure from the monsters of the outside world.

"Come on, I brought food..." Leo urged softly, kneeling beside the bundle of blankets and worn pillows that the youngest turtle was wrapped in. The freckled terrapin had been suffering from a head cold, and though the illness was small, it shook Leonardo to his core. The thought of Mikey turning into one of those _things_....it terrified him.

"Hmm...food...?" Naturally, Michelangelo perked up at the mention of food, sticking his face out from beneath the covers and sniffling to clear his stuffed nose. The small teen paled in comparison to the lively boy Leonardo had grown up with; his cheeks flushed and his skin lightened a few sickly shades, baby blue irises dulled. "Sit up a bit." Leo helped the other into an upright position. "It isn't much but It should help." The blue clad opened the can of chicken soup he'd scrounged out of an abandoned convenience store and carefully helped it to the smaller's lips, allowing him to sip. A soft silence fell over the small room, and though comforting, the crushing weight of reality still pressed down on the leader in blue.

~~~

_"Damn, those things are really freaky, dude." Michelangelo commented under his breath, eyeing the masses of infected individual that just seemed to keep spreading. The screams were the worst, he thought. Women and men letting out pitiful, wailing cries as they were torn apart, stripped of their flesh and eaten away. Blood washed over the streets like a river, and those who weren't eaten only rose again, now walking dully amongst the masses. Though always a fanatic of video games and monster hunting, even a good thriller from time to time, Mikey thought that this wasn't fun in the slightest. In fact, he couldn't help but worry about their other two siblings who shared quite some distance._

_"They're everywhere." Leonardo breathed, his blue eyes swimming with untold emotions. This was worse than any nightmare the leader could have imagined. Some movement had already been made against the creatures, with government men and Bishop leading a resistance, shooting down as many infected creatures as the could and ushering the public out to safety. Their options then were limited._

_It was either life or death at this point, and the blue clad could slowly feel himself loosing control over the situation at hand. One thing he knew for sure; there was no stopping this._

_"You okay, bro'....?" Mikey said softly from beside his older brother, the orange banded turtle wearing a frightened expression. He was resting on Leo for support, and the leader knew it was his job at that moment to hold them up. Now and from then on._

_"Yeah...we're going to be okay, Mike."_

_~~~_

"You're hurt..." Mikey coughed, wiping the soup from his lip and motioning to Leonardo's arm which was bandaged with his blue mask, dark red liquid soaking through the fabric. Leo followed the smaller's gaze and shook his head, setting the now half empty can of soup aside on the dusty cement floor. "It's only a scratch, it's okay."

"I-It wasn't..." The younger began, his crystalline eyes wide with an unspoken fear. The fear that perhaps his brother, his pillar, the only source of his strength and his heart and soul had been scratched by one of those creatures, soon to join them. "No, no, it was just an old nail, I promise." Leonardo immediately soothed, pulling his brother into a tight embrace. "I wouldn't Mike, I won't leave you like that..." He vowed softly, the small terrapin wrapped in his arms nodding shakily. "I know..."

The older heaved a silent sigh and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his younger brother's head, scanning the barren room. Yes, cold and barren....to this day he couldn't help but blame himself. It all came back to that day, the day it all come crashing and burning, and Leonardo was sent reeling into a dull, frightening reality in which Michelangelo was his only source of light in the cruel darkness. If he'd only had them all stay together; if only he had kept watch over his family, maybe, just maybe things would be different. His heart still ached over the loss, heavy and painful, digging a gruesome hole in his chest.

He missed it all...he missed _them_...

They had gone back, just like the leader said, but not a soul was there to meet them. The pair searched for days, refusing to accept the painful truth. As it were, reality was never so gracious, and the cruel reality eventually met them. It was Michelangelo who spotted it first, the discarded staff laying broken on the alley floor, traces of dried blood soaking the pavement darkly and not a trace of its owner in sight. Leo and Mikey returned to their sanctuary that day in silence, the loss settling in, and they shared their tears in the bitter darkness.

Raphael's mask was found just days later, drenched in blood and torn to shreds without trace yet again, and the gap in the leader's chest only expanded painfully. He'd lost them, he had _failed_ them....and then they were gone, and nothing could ever get them back. The wounds were internal, but they stung and they ached like nothing he'd felt before, not even after the death of their beloved master. What was more painful to watch was the light slowly draining from Michelangelo's eyes. Then, all they had was each other, and they relied on one another fully. Mikey was the last bit of hope that the leader had in his darkness and he'd be damned, let him be torn to shreds and buried alive before he let the other go. It was a fire burning, a dedication, an unquenched _love_ that kept him going.

It had been almost two years since the outbreak.

"You should eat too..." Mikey said quietly from his spot, nestled warmly in the leader's arms. Leonardo's gaze softened over the young turtle. "I will later, just rest for now." Naturally, Mikey pouted in response. "You say that, but you'll forget later." He always was able to see through the blue clad so easily.

"Alright alright, you got me." Leo took hold of the soup can and took a sip. The broth was cold and over seasoned, but the blue banded terrapin still thought it was the best thing he'd tasted in months. "You bet. We gotta take care of each other, remember?" Mikey stated, and his tone was serious, meeting the older's gaze unflinchingly. "How could I forget?" Came the reply, and he leant down to press his beak against the younger's. "Yeah...we're going to be okay....as long as we have each other..."

Mikey nodded, and, just briefly, a small smile returned to the freckled turtle's lips, the light in his eyes following. The sight alone was enough to make the leader's eyes gloss over, and his chest ached all over again. "Leo...? Are you okay?" Mikey cupped his face gently, and Leonardo let out a breathless laugh, shocking them both. "Yeah Mikey...I'm alright..." Leo met the smaller's gaze lovingly, and Michelangelo's eyes swam with a new emotion entirely. The words slipped from the leader's lips before he could stop them. "I love you.."

Silence carried on, and, for just a moment, soft lips met his, words just as timid breaking the space. "I know...I love you too, Leo."

Leonardo pulled the other close and his chest heaved with silent tears, clinging to his source of life. _His_ Michelangelo. His brother, his lover, and his light in the crushing darkness. As long as they were together there would always be a way out, and together they would find it.

But for then, and in that moment alone, they would sit in the darkness and bathe in each other's glow, the warmth in their hearts keeping them safe for the remainder of the night and their love burning away the nightmare surrounding them.

_Fin~_


End file.
